Agency Business Models

In November 1, Enron Corp. Chief Executive Kenneth Lay and one of his senior executives, Lou Pai, set out to create the first online retailer of electricity and natural gas. The new company, which they eventually called NewPower Holdings Inc., was aimed at allowing homeowners to shop for energy just like they bought books from Amazon.com Inc. Like Enron s investments in industries as diverse as water treatment and broadband capacity, the NewPower venture was a high-risk gamble. Like those other projects, it contributed to the energy trader s demise. In…